Catholics in Nagaland state closed all their schools for one day in protest at the demolition of a village church, allegedly by Baptists.

The Catholic Association of Nagaland organized the July 23 protest after the newly built church in Anatongre, Kiphire district, was destroyed on July 9.

“We will not react hastily as Christians, but remain patient and make decisions carefully,” said Father Carolous Neisalhou, vicar general of Kohima diocese which covers the entire northeastern Indian  state.

The village inter-denominational tussle in this Christian majority state has been going on since 1973 when several villagers resisted efforts to start a Catholic church.

In 2001, the village council said “to maintain unity” the village will have only one Church – the Baptist Church.

Earlier this year, however, 17 people wrote to the village elders saying they had formed a Catholic community and had started raising funds to build a place of worship.

In April, village authorities wrote to the parish priest of nearby St. Peter’s Church opposing the construction, saying the majority of villagers have agreed “that there would be only one Church in the village.”

The priest wrote to police along with 21 other people calling themselves Catholics, declaring their right to have a church.

They then built a wooden structure.

But before it could begin services, a crowd pulled it down. Church sources said of the 20 families who had embraced Catholicism, 11 families were pressured into recanting.

The Catholic Association of Nagaland has appealed to the state governor, the chief minister and other top officials to ensure that Catholics enjoy “freedom of religion” as guaranteed in the Indian constitution.

The school protest was to show “our disappointment and hope that such events do not occur in future,” said Rocus Chasie, a Catholic leader.

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